Congress Urged to Lift Ban on U.S. Travel to Cuba

Freedom House today submitted a statement to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs urging Congress to rescind the ban on U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba.

In its statement, Freedom House indicates that allowing Americans to visit Cuba would benefit citizens of both countries. Americans in Cuba would bring an increased flow of information to the island, hampering the Cuban government’s ability to contain the spread of ideas and reinvigorating indigenous efforts to advance human rights and democracy in the country. Simultaneously, repeal of the ban would reaffirm the fundamental right of all Americans to travel wherever they want.

“The current isolation of Cuban citizens from the rest of the world leaves them susceptible to the warped reality presented by their government,” said Jennifer Windsor, Executive Director of Freedom House. “Cubans deserve the right to decide, with all available information, how they want to be governed, and repeal of the travel ban would bring them closer to making that decision for themselves.”

Cuba is ranked Not Free in the 2009 edition of Freedom in the World, Freedom House's survey of political rights and civil liberties, and Not Free in the 2009 version of Freedom of the Press.

Cuba remains one of the most repressive countries on earth. It is among the 17 countries included in the 2009 edition of Freedom House’s annual report, Worst of the Worst: The World’s Most Repressive Societies.

For more information on Cuba, visit:

Freedom in the World 2009: Cuba
Freedom of the Press 2009: Cuba

Another "Special Period" in Cuba? How Citizens View Their Country's Future